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GRAND CANYON - Gov. Janet Napolitano wants state legislation to permit her - or at least someone - to declare a drought emergency.
Napolitano, speaking Monday at the 85th annual Town Hall here, said she believes mandatory conservation measures should, to the extent possible, be kept in the hands of local officials.
"But at some point the state may need to step in with "some mandatory measures," the governor said.
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"That needs to be on an agreed-upon consensus ahead of time as to when would that happen," Napolitano explained. "And I think the Legislature ought to take that up."
The governor said she will speak to new legislative leaders after today's election to determine exactly what form that authority should take. Napolitano said, though, she wants lawmakers to take up the issue when they convene in January.
But the governor sidestepped the question of exactly what authority she believes she - or any state chief executive - needs.
"I don't even want to say that because then you'll write it," Napolitano told Capitol Media Services. "And then it'll be (a headline saying) "Governor asks for mandatory conservation measures."
The governor did note that certain things already are within her control: On Monday, she ordered all state agencies to reduce water consumption by 5 percent.
She said that will do more than simply save water. Napolitano said what works - and what does not - will be shared with the rest of the state.
Napolitano said all the efforts so far to manage water "are not enough to sustain us for another century."
She said permits for new home construction jumped more than 20 percent in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. But Lake Mead is at half its capacity, with Lake Powell at 38 percent and Roosevelt Lake at 28 percent.
The governor said simply securing and expanding the state's water supply is not enough.
"We must develop a culture of conservation in Arizona, wherein everyone who lives and works here does all that can be done to conserve our most vital natural resource," she said.
The governor, however, said that may not be enough.
She pointed out that the state's annual allotment of 2.8 million acre feet of Colorado River water is dependent on there actually being enough water available: To secure funding for the Central Arizona Project, Arizona had to agree that in years of shortage its share would be the first to be cut.
She said hardest hit will be farmers who "must be prepared to transition to groundwater usage" and have strategies to reduce consumption. But she conceded that is a short-term solution.
"Ultimately, as urban areas continue to encroach on farmlands, the ag industry needs more support in transition its land use from crops to municipal and industrial use," the governor said.
Napolitano said while maximizing water supply is important, so is animal habitat. She made special mention of the upper San Pedro River watershed and the link between local economies and eco-tourism.
"Bird watching is a $28 million tourism industry in Cochise County," she said. "That's because the San Pedro corridor is one of the richest and most critical bird migration corridors on the planet."
Napolitano said later there is a way to both preserve the water flow and continue growth in the Sierra Vista area. "There's been discussion of bringing water over from Tombstone," she said. Napolitano said everyone realizes "the integrity of the San Pedro basin has to be maintained."
The governor also made a push for her plan for a "virtual water university," combining the resources of the three state universities "into one super-center of research, community assistance and economic development." She said each school is a leader in its own special area.
The University of Arizona has the Center for Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian areas, the only such center in the country.
Arizona State University got a $6.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation to fund the Decision Center for Desert Cities to help improve planning and water management in growing desert urban areas.
Northern Arizona University is working on various watershed improvement projects throughout the state.
Ezai I. Martinez wrote on Jun 24, 2009 7:58 PM: